The Devil Among Us

  That front room being referred to was mine. It didn’t take long for reluctant footsteps to plod across the stone flooring in a pair of clunky boots. Scarcely daring to breathe, I pinned myself against the pillar. This Ron guy would have to march the entire circumference of the bare room to reveal my location. I hoped he’d get bored before that happened or convince himself that they were being paranoid.

  A trickle of sweat ran down my brow bone, and I felt my heart jumping at every step Ron took. Surely, he could hear the thunder of my heart if not my muted inhales.

  Ron’s muttering was closer now than I’d expected, and the clicks of his gun were intimidating. To be shot by a police weapon from our own storage, one that both McCall and I had marvelled at and touched, made the prospect that much more personal.

  From the corner of my eye, his legs came into view. Any minute now, he’d spot my quivering self. Ron stepped forward and hoisted the gun ready in his arms. I saw his trembling fingers latch themselves onto the trigger and he precariously stepped closer.

  A horn blared outside, startling Ron as much as it had me. Despite panicking, I’d managed to stay still as the commotion arose outside. A series of urgent shouts bellowed from David Roy.

  “That’s the signal. Go, Go!” The fear was evident in his voice, and I could hear them all start to flee. Ron barely cared to continue the search and spotted the broken window as a means of escape. Exactly as I’d done to come in, Ron swung his legs over the ground-floor window and escaped into the Scotch mist.

  Headlights from the white van changed position as the van started to zoom away from Seafield house with exigency and I spotted the three criminals chasing after it. David Roy and the smaller guy hopped in the back whilst on the move. Ron ran along behind whilst yelling at the driver to slow down and wait for him to get in. David Roy outstretched a hand to help their associate clamber up into the back end.

  What had gotten them spooked?

  Their van gradually retreated along the dirt track, revving their engine to prevent them from sinking too much as I had done. Letting out the throbbing breath I’d held, I gratefully thanked fate for whatever had happened to make the criminals leave. Perhaps it wasn’t my time yet. Perhaps I still had achievements left to find and new places in the world to discover.

  “I knew you’d try something stupid, Cooper,” a strict voice said from behind. “Those boys could have killed you. They’re trigger happy.” DCI Reid stepped out from the adjoining room, bathing in the dusk.

  I hauled myself up from the stone, both eyes narrowing in hatred. “You’d know that better than anyone else. Why didn’t you go with them?”

  “Our deal is over. They’re on their own now,” he revealed and stopped in his tracks whilst leaning against the masonry doorway that connected our rooms together. “You came in through the window, I presume?” He nodded at where the dreadful breeze was howling and the rain poured in.

  “So what if I did?” I hissed defensively.

  DCI Reid chuckled but the hairs on my arms prickled from the harsh tone. “You’re lucky you’re skinny. A guy like me would get stuck halfway through.” This wasn’t a time for jokes. “That’s why I used the doorway.” He surveyed my closed-off body language. “Because I was invited, unlike you.”

  The game was up. I didn’t have to pretend anymore.

  “You were invited here to finish the job,” I spat in distaste, blood boiling at the way he was still acting innocent.

  DCI Reid played with his tie. “Ah, you read my diary then,” His greying hair was in a state like mine, dripping and unruly. “I’d rather hoped you would. Invisible ink isn’t really my style, but I hoped you’d enjoy the fun little chase. It made it worthwhile.” Giant stains of water covered his front, whilst sweat stains coated my armpits.

  “What?” I whispered.

  “Oh, come on, Cooper. I’d put you down as smarter than that. Dropping my wallet at your feet? Leaving my office door wide open, as well as the diary? It was all a bit too easy.” He chortled in a stuffy manner, knowing something I didn’t. “I’m always two steps ahead, Cooper. It’s a chess player’s habit.”

  The window had no glass, yet the air in here was stifling. “You were listening to our conversation. What did you do, bug my home?”

  “What are you talking about, Cooper?” DCI Reid furrowed his low hanging brows.

  “You bugged my house. You’ve been listening in on us. We said exactly the same thing about cards and chess and--”

  “And you’re a wee bit paranoid, Cooper,” DCI Reid straightened up intimidatingly. “Merely coincidence, that’s all.” His plastered smile was unsettling, buttons still ready to burst open.

  “You gave the criminals our evidence guns?” I spat combatively, stepping towards him. He stood his ground with a sort of unspoken power I couldn’t imitate if I tried. “And suspended McCall on purpose?”

  “Yes,” DCI Reid answered me point-blank. I was blown away by his openness.

  “Why?” I was flabbergasted, and my blood boiled at his indignation.

  “This isn’t how a conversation works, Cooper,” he replied matter-of-factly. “You’ve asked me a question, now, I get to ask you one. Hand over the phone.”

  “That isn’t a question, that’s an order,” I sneered and held onto the phone with all my might.

  DCI Reid pretended to think about it. “So it is, but I suggest you don’t fight it, Cooper. I’m quite a bit bigger than you.”

  “It’s DI Cooper to you,” I spat and reluctantly handed over the phone, paying that the video had finally been sent to McCall. In one smooth movement, DCI Reid had thrown it to the floor and smashed it to pieces as I’d done with the CCTV footage. My flimsy phone was no match for his heavy weight. “Now that you’ve got nothing on me that’ll ruin my reputation, we can talk properly.”

  “You lied to me. You lied to us all. You set this entire thing up,” I started slowly. It was as though a vacuum sucked all the energy from my body and I was trapped inside of a waking nightmare.

  “Yes,” he said again. “I won’t deny it. I had my reasons.”

  “But you killed people. Flynn Jones. Sam and Robin, too. What about Ryan Shaw? He was next, wasn’t he?” I made eye contact with his piercing silver ones.

  “I can’t take all the credit, there were others involved as you already know. I never planned to kill Ryan Shaw, I didn’t need to.” He cocked his head at me, those putrid lips grinned. He was waiting for me to piece this together. “He did as we asked him to.”

  “As you threatened him to, you mean?” I said factually. “He was petrified for his life.”

  “Aren’t we all? I’m a gambling man, Cooper. Life is the same as cards, it’s all a game. We live one day to find out we could be dead the next. It’s all about how you play the game that counts in the end.” He shrugged and scratched his double chin.

  None of this made sense.

  “McCall wasn’t much help,” DCI Reid confessed ashamedly. “She nearly worked it out right away. She nearly stopped me from earning my rightful money before the job was anywhere near done. Let this be an example for you, Cooper. An important life lesson that we all have to learn at CID.”

  “A lesson in what?” I yelled in dislike, wanting nothing more than to strangle him with my bare hands. The echoes that bounced from the bare walls made the night seem sinister.

  “It’s a lesson that anyone can be a criminal, no matter how well you think you know them. If anything, it will make you a better DI, or who knows? A better DCI one day,” he suggested and thrust both hands collectively into his pockets.

  How dare he.

  “I will never be a DCI. Not after you--” I broke off and wiped my face in hopes that I’d wake up from this enduring nightmare. “When did you know we were onto you?” I pressured him equally.

  “Since I caught you snooping around our home. You don’t half enjoy prying into people's private things, Cooper. I’m just surprised that you didn’t figure out that the de
corators were a front sooner than that.” My head pounded, threatening to burst. “My wife was very accommodating to you two. It’s a shame you’ve snubbed us like this.”

  “No,” I said with certainty, “None of this is on me. You’re the despicable one here. Does Iona know anything about this?”

  “She won't ever find out,” DCI Reid said confidently. “Because you won’t tell her and neither will I. The drugs have gone and the sum of money will be transferred into our bank in a few days time.” Those large nostrils of his flared in enjoyment. The sick, twisted bastard. If he wasn’t such a hefty man, I would’ve punched him already.

  “Don’t count on it. Everyone will know what you’ve done, sooner or later. You’ll be in prison for a long time you piece of rotten scum,” I spat at him.

  “That’s where you’re wrong again, I’m afraid, Cooper. We’re a little past that.” He chortled and rolled his shoulders back. His heavily built body paced to a nook hidden within the walls and he dragged out a red can that was full to its brim with flammable liquid. It didn’t take a genius to work out what he wanted to do. It struck a chord between us and the atmosphere became even denser than before.

  “Because Judge Ramsey will get you out of it? The judge that’ll help you worm your way out of any consequence you guys will face?” I questioned, frowning at the can.

  “No. Because I’m not going to prison at all. Dead men don’t need to,” he grunted and began to unscrew the lid. DCI Reid must be insane to some capacity to even consider taking this option out.

  “I didn’t put you down as a coward,” I hissed and feared what would become of us if he was being genuine. Was this some sort of test?

  “It’s not cowardice,” he replied and stood himself opposite me. “It’s the only way out of this. Cowards don’t spend their half of their life-saving people and solving cases.”

  “Does Iona know that you plan on doing this?” I whispered, and it must’ve struck a pang of humanity somewhere deep down in DCI Reid’s soul, for his eyes softened and his shoulders relaxed at the very mention of her name.

  “No. Of course, she doesn’t. Her and her big mouth. This is for her. She’ll understand eventually,” he convinced himself until he was satisfied that this was the right option to pursue.

  “What’s it all for?” I halted his movements with words and tried to inject some reasoning into his actions. “Tell me before you set this place on fire because I'm struggling to understand.”

  “It’s for her life, the one that she gave up for my sake. It’s so that Iona can move on and live well,” he admitted and stooped next to the dirty can. “No more of our money will be wasted on my wishful gambling, cheating or trying to scrimp and save pennies to make her happy. This was the only way of ensuring such a big sum of money without losing it. She won't spend it all at once, not if it’s the only thing left of me.”

  “As much as I despise you, in some sick way Iona loves you, not the money she lost. She gave up her family for your sake out of love. Not only will you break her heart when she finds out what you’ve done, but you’re prepared to leave her in this world all alone for the sake of some money?” I struggled to see the point.

  “Nobody will tell a grieving woman that her husband wasn’t a good man. They’ll speak kindly of me and remember me for all the positive things I did. The cases we solved, the galas we organised,” he listed. “The charity man. That’s the DCI Reid they’ll remember. I can’t live with myself after this, Cooper.” DCI Reid blinked up at me openly. His approach was softer and deep down I understood that this time he was being honest. Perhaps the only time. “This was the way it was always going to end. I can’t go to jail, they’d treat me like scum. I’ve worked too hard to end as a DCI to end up that way.”

  I couldn’t contain my spiteful laughter. “You betrayed our entire team. What part of that is working hard?”

  “Thirty-five years I’ve worked for the police, Cooper,” he said proudly.

  “You helped to kill three innocent people and ruined two officers’ lives, including McCall’s. You corrupted our station, our evidence and our trust as a team, so tell me why your measly thirty-five years would impress me?” I snapped and my lungs filled up with the damp air. I took it in while I could before the entire place was set ablaze.

  DCI Reid grunted with effort as he lifted up the full can. “I wanted you here to see this. It had to boil down to me and you. You were the one person who would understand my reasons. I never wanted to be this, you have to believe me. I was a good man once.”

  “I don’t believe you,” I confessed. “Why would I, after everything you’ve done?”

  “Because you’re a similar man to me. You’d do the same if it meant helping McCall for the rest of her life or Abbey. I know you would.”

  “For the first time in a long time, you’re wrong,” I held my own, even as Reid tried to drag me down to his level. “I’m not a good man. I’m a horrible man, and I’m too selfish to get involved in corruption for the sake of other people. I have my pride, and I have my morals.”

  There were only two of us to hear me admit my faults, and one of us was a madman with a can full of lighter fluid.

  “I won't let you do this,” I warned when he started spreading the liquid by our feet. Too many people had suffered at his hands, and he deserved to rot in a prison cell for his crimes. The clunking canister full of liquid wasn’t how I’d pictured my final minutes. “This isn’t the way we do things.”

  “Oh, but I disagree,” DCI Reid informed me and turned his wrist over to read his watch amidst the warehouse gloom. “You’ve got two minutes. Starting… now.” With that, he and got to work with flicking the liquid everywhere in sight.

  I looked at DCI Reid and slowly lost hope that this event could end well in any shape or form.

  “I gave you your warning. One minute fifty. I’m not stopping you,” DCI Reid muttered whilst coating the industrial flooring in his oily dregs. “You can go. This isn’t your crime... I just wanted you to know my reasoning first. My final secret.” His large body moved around the room. “Do with it what you may. But eventually, your guilt will overtake the need to share my wrongdoings. We all make mistakes. That’s all this was. A mistake.”

  I wanted to run for the hills. To get out of the building as fast as my legs could carry me. Away from him, away from the canister and the liquid. But for some reason, I couldn’t leave DCI Reid alone like this.

  “But then again, I should’ve known you’d enjoy playing the hero, Cooper.” DCI Reid smirked.

  “Not the hero. An idiot, maybe. Even after all you’ve done and the trust you have betrayed in me, I can’t stand by and let you do this. Think of Iona,” I begged.

  This man, despite his faults and wrongdoing, had meant a lot to me once. He was a man diseased by corruption and morbid desperation. This was his twisted way of providing for his wife and to make up for what he believed had ruined her perfect life.

  “You’re sick, you’re not thinking straight. Iona doesn’t care about how much money you have,” I repeated and prayed on the one person that could make him weak or sway his decision.

  “I am. She wouldn’t want to see her husband behind bars. She’d lose everything. I’d lose everything, My integrity. My title. This… is necessary. A necessary measure. Everyone will remember me as the officer who tragically lost his life amidst a messy drug case. I know you’ll make sure of that for me,” he admitted and itched his scruffy, greying eyebrows. He smothered it in oil by accident.

  “One minute ten,” he carried on the regular updates.

  “Don’t tar yourself with this legacy,” I warned him with balled fists. I didn’t know what else to do or what to say that would change his determined mind.

  “I’ll be a hero.” DCI Reid slipped his tailored jacket off and threw it into a bundle in the soaking corner.

  “You always did have a superiority complex,” I managed to emit a scoff that hinted towards a sense of normality.


  “Find some forgiveness, Cooper. One day, you’ll know why I did all of this. Working for these people, it’s a hard life. It wears you down. I started off like you, willing and eager to do what’s right for the good people in our world. But over time they grate away at you, gnawing us down to the bone and you suddenly realise. We haven’t changed a thing. No matter how many criminals we stop or how many arrests we make, they’ll always be more. It’s a rot that grows eternally.”

  DCI Reid threw the emptied can to the ground with a loud clatter.

  “So you gave in and became part of that rot too.” I shook my head at the weak-willed man. “Being a police officer is about resisting the change and managing to remain undiseased in a world full of rot. That’s what we stand for. It’s not about changing the world single-handedly. It’s about sticking together, as a team.” My heartbeat sped up intensely as I preached. It was a moment of realisation for me too.

  I’d come here alone and disregarded our entire team. The team whose help I desperately needed for support. To rely on. To trust in. Whilst we were so occupied with trying to keep them out of harm’s way with this case, we’d forgotten that was our job. We signed a pact when we joined CID, to do what was necessary for our investigations. No matter how dangerous or how risky they ended up being.

  “Thirty seconds,” DCI Reid ignored me and stayed glued to his ticking watch.

  “Come with me, Alec.” I reached out my sticky hand one last time. “I’ll make sure they treat you right in prison,” I softened, desperate to relieve some of his burdens. I couldn’t stand by and do nothing to help this man who was crying out for some sort of help. I was torn into two halves. Part of me believed he deserved this, the other knew nobody deserved this sort of ending.

  His stern eyes were unwavering, and they bored into my soul. “Ten seconds.”

  “You can’t do this. Please don’t do this,” I begged and outstretched my hand for him to take. A guiding hand that promised to get him out of here. To save him from himself.

  He pulled out his cigarette lighter as if he was switched to autopilot mode. This is exactly what he’d planned in his own mind. This was the reason he brought here me. So that he wasn’t alone, so that someone knew his truth. A man who had succumbed to the darkness because of the woman he loved. It was a tragic tale.